CMF Chapter 2
The Internet, Digital Media, and Media Convergence The Development of the Internet and the Web A. The Birth of the Internet a. Origination -Originally the Internet originated as a military government project, with computer time-sharing as one of its goals. -The Defense Department’s Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) came up with a solution to help researchers share computer processing time. -The original Internet became known as ARPAnet, later nicknamed the Net. -The Net enabled the military researchers and academic researchers to communicate on a network system. -ARPAnet created a system of distributed wires where users could log onto a computer from multiple locations whenever they needed. b. Purpose of E-mail - E-mail would help researchers and military personal communicate better from separate locations. -In 1971, Ray Tomlinson developed software to send electronic mail messages to any computer on the ARPAnet. -The @ symbol was used to signify the location of the computer user -Login name@host computer -The Internet was primarily a tool used by universities, government research labs, and other corporations that used products like email to exchange e-mails. B. The Net Widens a. First Signal of Net’s Marketability -First signal of Net’s marketability took place in 1971with the introduction of microprocessors. -Microprocessors are miniature circuits that process and store electronic signals. -With the invention of microprocessors, companies were able to introduce the first personal computers (kind of like laptops). -After microprocessors were invented, next cam fiber-optic cable in the mid-1980s. -This became the standard for transmitting communication data at a speedy rate. C. The Commercialization of the Internet a. The World Begins to Browse -Browsers were software packages that helped people navigate the Web. -In 1995, Microsoft introduced their new Web Browser called Internet Explorer. -Some Web browsers that are used today include: -Google Chrome -Firefox -Apple’s Safari -Netscape -Opera i. World Wide Web -In the late 1980s, Time Berners-Lee designed the World Wide Web. -The web allowed people to use it initially for a text data-linking system which allowed computer assed information to be link to or associated with other information on the Internet. -Rather than just email and file transfers, people could now look up or for anything on the World Wide Web. ii. Purpose of HTML -HTML (hypertext markup language) was used to create web pages and links. -HTML and Web were used together to help people communicate more easily and in a more organized manner. b. Users Link In through Telephone and Cable Wires i. Cyberspace -In the first few years of the Internet, many people connected by connecting to “cyberspace”. -“Cyberspace” was when people connected to the Internet through telephone wires. -AOL (America Online) was one company that used this system through dial-up and the became one of the United State’s leading Internet Service Providers (ISP). ii. Broadband -Eventually, broadband Internet came along. Broadband is a type of connection where multimedia content can download more quickly. -Users eventually moved away from dial-up services like AOL and switched to company’s that offered high-speed Internet. -About 66% of all American households by 2012 had broadband connections compared to dial-up connections. -Today’s leading ISPs include: -Verizon -AT&T -Comcast -Time Warner Cable -CenturyLink -Charter -Cox c. People Embrace Digital Communication i. Digital Communication a. People Embrace Digital Communication i. Digital Communication- 1. Sounds, text or images are changed into electronic impulses represented by binary numbers and these numbers are eventually converted into a very accurate reproduction of the image, sound or text ii. Email as Early Internet Service 1. E-mail was first form of digital communication before G-mail (mail.google.com) and Yahoo and it had early success as well as some questions about its interchanges 2. In today’s modern digital era, all of the top e-mail sites (MSN, Yahoo, Google, all use advertisements in their messages iii. Instant Messaging 1. Became part of our culture back in the late 1990s and included instant feedback from person to person and the ability to communicate with several people at once. 2. Teenagers were first generation to utilize this form of communication. 3. It still remains as the easiest way to communicate back and forth online. b. Search Engines: i. Search Engines and their use 1. Made it easier and more simplified for users in that they just had to input a key word or phrase and they would get results that included webpages they could visit directly related to the key word or phrase they typed into the engine. The Web Goes Social ''' A. What Are Social Media? a. Several Ways of Describing Social Media i. Venue for Social Interaction: 1. Social media has become a place where people can share their information about their life, relationships and family happenings and tell stories about past events that have impacted their life in a positive way. ii. Multiplatform, participatory, and digital...an essential feature of truly democratic public life. iii. Platforms that enable the interactive Web by engaging users to participate in, comment on, and create content as a means of communicating with their social group, other users, and the public. B. Types of Social Media a. Blogs: enables people to easily post their ideas to a web site. Blogs cantain articles or posts in chronological, journal-like form, often with reader comments and links to other sites. b. Collaborative Projects: users build something together, often using Wiki technology. i. Wiki Web sites: enable anyone to edit and contribute to them. Examples: Wikitravel (global travel guide). c. Content Communities d. Social Networking Sites e. Virtual Game Worlds and Virtual Social Worlds C. Social Media and Democracy : a. Power of Social Media '''Convergence and Mobile Media A. Media Converges on our PCs and TVs a. Video game systems and set-top boxes (ROKU, Apple TV, etc.) 1. B. Mobile Devices Propel Convergence a. Blackberry in 2002 i. first popular internet-capable smartphone in the United States, introduced in 2002. ii. Email 1. Earned the phones nickname “crackberry” 2. User’s ability to check email messages at any time b. iPhone in 2007 i. apps 1. Free & low cost software applications for iPhone’s, iPod Touch, etc. 2. By 2012 over 750,000 apps were available ii. games and media iii. GPS 1. Able to access on your phone to find any place you need to go. 2. C. The Impact of Media Convergence on Mobile Media a. Growth of Mobile devices i. iPad 1. Able to catch up on the news a. US Today b. CBS News 2. You can watch any TV episode a. The Voice b. Glee c. Top Chef 3. You can play games and have apps a. Facebook b. Twitter c. Netflix 4. Have all you music downloaded on it ii. Kindle evolve 1. Able to access anything you want to read and will audio play for you a. Read books b. Newspapers c. Magazines b. Interactive Gaming Grows i. MMORPGs & Avatars ii. Gaming Consoles Become Media Centers iii. Economic Impact of Gaming 3. D. The Next Era: The Semantic Web i. Semantic Web is not a separate Web but an extension of the current one, in which information is given well-defined meaning, better enabling computers and people to work in cooperation’s. 1. Web 3.0 2. Computer generated connections The Economics and Issues of the InternetCampbell, Martin, and Fabos (2013). Media and Culture: Mass Communication in a Digital Age. Bedford St. Martin's: New York. '' A. Ownership: Controlling the Internet a. Telecommunications Act of 1996 -The goal of this new law is to let anyone enter any communications business -- to let any communications business compete in any market against any other. This link will take you directly to the FCC website explaining the Act in it’s entirety. -Primary players: Google, Amazon, Apple, Facebook; control many of the top sites and are major influences on the Internet. b. Global Village- Designed in California, Assembled in China -Explains the story behind Apple’s use of Chinese labor to manufacture their products. -Major issues were revealed at the plan (Foxconn) -Consider the ethical dilemma of having labor outsourced to other countries i. Google o -Controls 65% of the search market o -Has opened several branches offering different services i.e. Gmail, Blogger, Chrome. o -Continues R&D to find newer technological tools o -Competes with other primary tech. providers and social media sites i.e. Apple, Facebook GoogleVSApple ii. Apple o -Most valuable company in the world today. o -iPod & iTunes helped Apple become #1 music retailer o -Continuing innovation leads to further success and control in multiple aspects of technological services. iii. Amazon o Largest e-commerce store o Controls book sales through Kindle – e-books now outsell hardcover books o Has followed many of the ideas that Apple began using like Cloud applications and using content to sell devices. iv. Facebook o Largest social networking site o Has to face issues with privacy o Though customers seem optimistic, Facebook’s future is uncertain. B. Targeted Advertising and Data Mining: a. Media Literacy and the Critical Process -Are search engines valuable for research? -Consider the fact that many search engines now reflect the biases of the companies that fund them - Many times the results do not accurately reflect various view and are ‘filtered’ to contain specific answers b. E-Commerce and its Effects -Buying and selling products and services online -People do not realize that their personal information may be used -Data mining-Collecting data from potential consumers -Targeted advertising- Utilizing collected data to present potential consumers with appropriate ads -Raises many privacy issues c. Opt-In and Opt-Out Policies -Requires sites to ask for permission before allowing personal browsing and history to be monitored. C. Security: The Challenge to Keep Personal Information Private a. Government Surveillance -Patriot Act- Grants the government power to view and track e-mail messages and browsing online. -Raises many concerns especially privacy and constitutionality b. Fraud -Issues involving credit theft, identity theft, phishing, hacking -Phishing- emails that appear to be official, requesting personal information. iv. D. Appropriateness: What Should be Online? a. Children’s Internet Protection Act of 2000 b. “The Back Alleys” E. Access: The Fight to Prevent a Digital Divide: a. 75% of Households have Internet i. Age & Social Gaps b. Ways the Divide is being fought i. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation ii. Rising Smartphone Use F. Net Neutrality: Maintaining an Open Internet a. Open Source Software i. Linux b. Digital Archiving i. Open Content Alliance ii. Internet Archive '''The Internet and Democracy ' a. Telecommunication Act: The Increase of Commercialization b. Mass Customization Chapter Review ' '''A: Key Terms ''References: